Panic buttons, a texting tree and keyless locks – community members came up with these and other suggestions Thursday when they put their heads together in the name of school safety.

During a forum co-sponsored by the Maricopa Unified School District and Maricopa Police Department, the public met in small groups to discuss safety measures.

Superintendent Steve Chestnut said the forum was organized in response to questions he received from parents after the December school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Twenty-seven people, 20 of them children, were killed when Adam Lanza broke into the school and started randomly shooting teachers and students before killing himself.

Parents, district administrators, city officials and teachers at the forum were asked to what was good about the district’s safety procedures and what could use improvement.

Chestnut said district schools were safe and he has confidence in the district’s safety protocols. Still, he pointed out, “there’s always room for improvement, and that’s one reason we’re gathered here tonight.”

Before the group discussions began, attendees were given a brief overview of the safety measures in place.

First, Chestnut said, is the overall recognition by everyone in the district that “student safety is the highest priority, every day, of every staff member in our district.”

“It’s everybody’s job,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a bus driver or a school custodian or a teacher, everybody has to put that at the top of their list.”

Burns is a terrorism liaison officer trained in assessing potentially vulnerable sites – such as schools and utilities – and securing them against possible threats.

The police department also reviews weekly updates from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center. When appropriate, Stahl said, schools and parents will be notified of potential threats.

Members of the groups Thursday largely agreed the district’s safety policies are good, listing the school resource officer and district partnership with the police department as assets.

Common suggestions for improvement were educating the community about the safety measures in place, improving lighting in some of the parking lots, increasing awareness of mental health issues among students and having uniformed police officers pay more frequent visits to campuses.

The suggestions will be typed up and “reflected upon” by the district, Chestnut said.

Another safety forum is planned for the spring; the date still to be determined.